Update: This contest has ended. The winners have been chosen.

#41 Debbie and #47 Emily

I will be contacting the winners by Email!

I have another treat for you today! I am giving away two (yes, two) copies of Diane Eblin’s E-Book, The Gluten-Free Diner. There is also a fun way to earn your entries (more about that at the end of this post)!

Diane (author of The WHOLE Gang, and her new daily journal, Change My Life Journal), is the kind of lady you just cannot get enough of. She is: Feisty. Zesty. Sassy. She has the most outlandish and goofy personality. She reminds me of me, my sister, my aunt, and my Mom all rolled in to one.

She is also a total leader. After all, she somehow managed to convince an entire gaggle of allergy-friendly bloggers to follow her (or rather, chase her) through the streets of Seattle and San Francisco without even a question as to where she may be leading us.

I still laugh at myself when I remember our trip to BlogHer Food ’10 in San Francisco – the town in which I was born AND raised (and assumingly very familiar with)- and how I was just as eager to follow Diane anywhere as everyone else was. For some reason, I was sure that this East Coast gal could get us where we needed to go far more efficiently than this San Fran native ever could.

And, technically, I should know those SF streets up and down after living there for nineteen years. But as a few of my blogger pals like to recall and tease me about (ahem, Glugle Gluten Free, Alisa Cooks, and Celiacs in the House), I should have been taking better direction and lead from Diane. Maybe then we would not have ended up lost in a dark ally late at night.

But wait! This post is not really about Diane (or about my total lack of directional awareness). It is about her awesome E-Book, The Gluten-Free Diner.

This E-Book is packed with 48 different Diner inspired recipes that will satisfy that longing you have been having for all of your favorite comfort foods since you went Gluten and/or Dairy Free. You will find ideas here that will inspire hundreds of meal combinations. She has also added this awesome blue box that allows you to keep your own notes about what you liked, did not like, would have added, would have left out, etc.

I have had so much fun cooking through this book.

So far, I have made from the Diner Menu:

Bacon-Wrapped Avocados – Holy moly. Rich, naughty, and unbelievable! My kids ate these as fast as I was taking them out of the pan and they were cool enough to touch their tongues. This combination married two of their favorite ingredients. And really? How can you go wrong with avocado slices wrapped in bacon? I tried to get a photo of these, but the sad-looking ones that I was left with after my children inhaled them were anything BUT photo-worthy.

Sesame Ginger Wings – Sticky. Sweet. Finger-licking delicious. Literally. All three of my boys (and myself) were licking each finger to make sure we did not miss any of that sticky sauce. I bought what I thought would be more than enough wings to feed all of us. But, I ended up sacrificing some of my pile to feed the hungry boys in my house since these were such a hit (alas, they could use the calories far more than I can, so, in reality, they were just helping me with my diet).

Pesto Chicken Salad - Six thumbs up on this one! The other sets of thumbs come from Shirley (of GFE-gluten free easily) and her husband. As you may recall from this previous post, they made a little visit to the Cook It Allergy Free house on their way back to Virginia after an insane road trip to Arizona. I had the pleasure of serving this Salad to them for lunch! It was delicious and devoured. Shirley was quick enough to take a photo, so….I am borrowing hers to share with you here:

Roasted Tomato and Basil Soup – So very good. And so perfect for these off-and-on frigid days we have been having here. The boys loved dipping Elana’s Pantry’s Biscuits in it and I loved eating it cold, as leftovers, straight from the fridge. Although, I did get a huge craving for an ooey gooey grilled cheese sandwich while I was eating it.

So far, everything has been a total home-run here in the CIAF house! And, if I have succeeded in making you completely curious and totally hungry, you now will have your chance to win a copy of this E-Book for yourself.

Now for the fun way to win a copy:

I was recently bestowed an award from Shirley, my GFE-gluten free easily friend. The Memetastic Award. This award is a lot of fun. The awardees must tell 5 things about themselves, with 4 out of 5 being outright lies. Our readers have to guess which one of the 5 is TRUE! The awardees must also pass the award on to five others….which I am not going to do because ALL of the people I would pass it on to have already received this ever-so honorable award

So here goes – can you guess which is true?

1. My house is always a complete and total disaster.

2. I have a wake-boarding boat that is so big it will not even fit in our over-sized garage.

3. I know how to surf pretty well and love to ride the waves with my husband.

4. I love my chocolate chip cookies hot and straight from the oven.

5. I have been to over 10 Jimmy Buffett Concerts in the last seventeen years.

So here are the ways to earn three entries into this giveaway (leave a comment for each one you do so that they count for additional entries):

Today is GF day 1 for me and so far it’s great!
I am a Subway breakfast fan. Last night I bought Glutino English Muffins and this mornimg my Subway team made my usual on even waaaay better! Whoooohooo for me!
I’d really like to win of course we all do as I have following on FB and what a great prize!
Good luck to us all and congratulations to whoever the lucky winner is!

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by thewholegang, Kim. Kim said: GIVING AWAY 2 copies of @thewholegang 's books The Gluten-Free Diner today! There is a fun way to enter, too!! http://su.pr/4BZHuU [...]